Hat-dipping machine.



N0 MODEL.

S. H. FANTON.

PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904.

HAT DIPPING MACHINE.-

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 28, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' ATTORN N0.76%806. PATENTED AUG.l6,f@04b S.H.FANTON. HAT DIPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1904. N0 MODEL.

4 SHEETS-SHBET 2..

INVENTOR I A B 'ATTORNE No. 767,806. PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904. S. H. PANTON.

HAT DIPPING MACHINE.

I APPLIOATION FILED MAY 28. 1904.

N0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3,

WITNESSES: INVENTOR yw 24 smamefi;

I p I I t \7' I i 4 ATTORNEE PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904.

8. H. FANTON. HAT DIPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28. 1904.

4 SHBETSSHEB T 1.

I no MODEL.

mvzmon "I l ll WITN ESSES:

' ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES Patented August l6, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

HAT-DIPPING MACHINE,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 767,806, dated August 16, 1904.

Application filed May 28, 1904:. Serial No. 210,242. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, STERLING H. FANToN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Danbury, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hat- Dipping Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to hat-dipping machines, and has for its objects simplicity of construction and readiness and uniformity in operation; and with these ends in view my invention consists in certain details of construction and combination of parts, such as will be hereinafter fully set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application, Figure l is a rear elevation of my improved machine; Fig. 2, a plan view taken at the line a {r of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a section at the line 1] g of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the power-pulley and showing the position of the clutch-lever in dotted lines; Fig. 4, a central vertical longitudinal section through the main shaft, showing the clutch elements disengaged; Fig. 5, a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the clutch elements engaged; Fig. 6, a section at the line 3/ 3/ of Fig. 2 looking away from the power-pulley, and Fig. 7 a section at the line .2 .2 of Fig. 5 and showing the clutch-lever resting on top of the auxiliary clutch-disk with the switch of the latter on the point of engaging said lever.

Similar numbers of reference denote like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

My invention attaches particularly to the means which I employ for dipping the hats at the proper speeds, comparatively quick at the start, but slow at the finish, so that the apex of the hat will not be blown out by the air-pressure, and also to my peculiar clutch mechanism, which is so constructed as to be capable of adjustment, whereby the extent of the dipping operation may be varied to accommodate hat-cones of different heights, all of which will be readily understood from the following description.

1 2 are ordinary hangers adapted to be secured in any suitable manner to the ceiling of a work-room, and 3 is the main shaft journaled in said hangers and carrying the powerpulley 4. 5 is a counter-shaft also journaled within said hangers.

6 is a large spur-gear loose on the shaft 3, and 7 is a small spur-gear tight on said shaft, said gears meshing, respectively, with the small spur-gear 8 and the large spur-gear 9, which two last-named gears revolve in harmony and are supported on the shaft 5, so that it will be readily understood that all four of these gears constitute a system of speedgears, whereby motion at the proper speed is communicated from the gear 7 to'the gear 6.

10 is the main clutch-disk, having an elongated hub 11, which latter is loosely supported on the shaft 3, so as to be capable of free longitudinal and rotary movements. The extremity of this hub 11 terminates in clutchteeth 12, while theinner face of the hub 18 of the gear 6 likewise terminates in clutchteeth 1a, and these two sets of clutch-teeth are normally engaged by the action of the coil-spring15 around the shaft 3 and confined between the hanger 1 and disk 10.

16 is a feather projecting from the hub 11 throughout its length, and 17 is an auxiliary clutch-disk secured to this hub by means of this feather and capable of an independent lengthwise movement along said hub.

18 is a collar having an inwardly-extending hub 19, which collar and hub are mounted around the elongated hub 11 and secured thereto by means of the feather 16, so as to be capable of a lengthwise movement, and said collar is secured to the disk 17 by any suitable screw or pin 20.

21 is a straight-groove pulley, and integral therewith is a spiral-groove pulley 22, said pulleys being mounted on the hub 11 and secured thereto by means of the feather 16, so that said pulleys will revolve in harmony with said hub, but will not interfere with the free lengthwise movements of the latter.

23 is the clutch-controlling lever, one extremity of which is pivoted at 26L to a stationary bracket 25, said lever extending rearwardly and provided with a shoe 26, which toe 27, while the other extremity is provided with any suitable drop-cord 33 or analogous device.

Between the disks 10 and 17 are small coilsprings 34, which act to normally separate saiddisks for the purpose presently to be explained.

When the drop-cord 33 is pulled, the clutchlever 23 will be elevated so as to bring the shoe 26 above the level of the disk 17 and the action of the coil-spring will then cause the clutch-teeth 12 on the hub 11 to engage with the clutch-teeth 14 on the hub 13 of the gear 6, and at the same time the action of the coil-springs 34 will force the auxiliary clutchdisk 17 toward the pulley 22 so as to bring said disk immediately below said shoe, and when said drop-cord is released said shoe will be drawn firmly against the periphery of this disk 17, owing to the action of the coilspring 28.

is a switch which intersects the periphery'of the disk 17, and this periphery is cut down, as shown at 36, immediately in front of the point of the switch, and the rear portion of this switch is on a level with the periphery of the collar 18, so that it will be clear that when the point of the switch engages with the shoe 26 the disk 17 will be forced to one side against the resiliency of the springs 34 until said disk has passed completely from beneath said shoe, when the latter will rest upon this collar 18. Extending from the inside of this collar 18 is a protuberance 37, and immediately in front of this the periphery of the collar is cut down not quite to the surface of the hub 19, as shown at 38.

During the revolution of this collar the shoe' will ride down this portion 38 and will strike against the protuberance 37, thereby forcing the disk 17 against the disk 10 and, furthermore, forcing both of these disks against the resiliency of the spring 15 until the collar 18 has completely cleared the shoe 26, whereupon the latter will drop down upon the hub 19 and be held firmly thereon by the action of the coil-spring 28. This action of the protuberance 37 against the lever 23 will also disengage the teeth 12 and 14, and the shoe itself will thereby be interposed against the inner face of the collar 18 and act as a stop to prevent the engagement of these teeth until the drop-cord 33 is again operated to raise said lever.

Secured to the straightgroove pulley 21 and wound around the sameis a rope 39, from the lower extremity of which is suspended a weight 40, and secured to the small end of the pulley 22 and wound. around the spiral groove thereof is a rope' fl, the lower end of which is secured to the bail 42 of the hat-cone-supporting platform 12, which latter is immediately above the dipping-tub 14. Right here I would say that the construction of the hateone-supporting platform has nothing whatever to do with my invention, and 1 do not wish to be limited to any particular style of platform or to any special way of connecting the rope L1 to this platform element, and I have illustrated in the drawings anordinary form of platform and tub in order that a clear understanding may be had of the manner of dipping a hat. The rope ll is wound toward the large diameter of the pulley 22, since when this rope is unwound the descent of the hatcone must be comparatively rapid at first, then gradually decreasing in speed as the small portion of the cone is dipped, and this control of the dipping operation is necessary, in the first place,to save time when the larger diameters of the cone are dipped and, in the second place, to prevent the confined air at the top of the cone from blowing out the apex of the hat; but I claim no novelty in controlling thedipping speed in this manner, since all hat-dipping machines have this characteristic, my invention in this respect residing in the means which I employ to accomplish this result. The weight 40 acts as an overpoise, and the rope 39 is wound around the pulley 21 in a direction reverse to that in which the rope 41 is wound, and the function of this weight is to return the hat-cone to its normal or elevated position after the hub 11 and the parts carried thereby have been disengaged from the power element. I prefer to lead the rope 39 over a small pulley 45, supported in a small hanger 46, which depends from the body of the main hangers, since this enables me to preserve a proper distance between the weight 40 and the dipping-tub.

1n dipping hat-cones of certain heights a single revolution of the shaft 3 is all that is required; but some hat-cones are longer than others, and it becomes necessary to provide for more than one revolution of said shaft in order to accomplish the dipping. Of course if only one revolution of this shaft 3 were required at all times the construction of a clutch which would automatically disengage at the end of a complete revolution of such shaft would be a very simple matter and in all probability would not involve any new structure; but in my improvement I provide for a dipping operation extendingthroughout about one and one-half revolutions of the shaft 3, and I will now explain this in detail.

The collar 18 is made separate from the auxiliary disk 17 and is secured thereto by means of the screw 20, and small holes 47 are provided in this collar, so that the latter may. besecured to the auxiliary disk in several positions, so as to vary the normal distance between the protuberance 3'7 and the switch 35. Referring particularly to Figs. 3 and 7, it will be noted that the switch 35 and protuberance 37 are diametrically opposite each other, so that it will be clear that after the switch has operated upon the shoe to cause the latter to rest upon the periphery of the collar 18 the shaft will have about one one-half a revolu-l, tion before the protuberance will operate against the shoe to disengage the clutch-teeth;

By securing the collar 18 to the disk 17 through the various small holes 47 the normal distance between the protuberance 37 and the switch. 35 will be varied, and consequently the shaft 3 will be revolved more or less before the dipping operation is effected and the clutch elements disengaged. In Fig. 3 1 have illustrated the position of the several parts immediately after the engagement of the clutch elements and prior to the beginning of the dipping operation, so that it will be clear that after the shaft 3 has completed about one revolution the switch 35 will operate to bring the shoe 26 against the periphery of the collar 18, and this shaft will continue to revolve until the cast off or protuberance 37 has 0perated against said shoe to efiect the disengagement of the clutch elements and cause said shoe to rest upon the periphery of the hub 19.

While I have illustrated and described a system of speed-gears 6, 7, 8, and 9 whereby positive motion is communicated to the spurgear 6, I do not wish to be limited to this construction, since any positive rotating power element will answer the purposes of my invention so long as the clutch devices are carried by this element and by the elongated hub of the main clutch-disk. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a shaft, a power ele pivotal point, a spring for normally interpos ing said lever as a stop whereby said clutch ism and cooperating with said lever whereby the clutch elements are automatically disengaged and the lever restored to normal position, a spiral-groove and a stra1ghtgroove pulley carried by said clutch mechanism and secured thereto by a feather, and a hat-supporting platform and an overpoise suspended ley and a straight-groove pulley secured together and mounted on a suitable shaft, a hatsupporting platform and an overpoise suspended by ropes wound respectively around said pulleys, a revolving element, and suitable clutch mechanism whereby said pulleys may be engaged with and disengaged from said element at predetermined times.

3. The combination of a shaft,a power element mounted thereon, clutch mechanism loosely mounted on said shaft, a spring which normally forces said mechanism into engagement with said element, a lever which normally affords a stop to hold said mechanism out of engagement with said element, a spiralgroove and straight-groove pulleys mounted on said clutch mechanism and secured thereto by a feather, and a hat-supporting platform and an overpoise suspended by ropes wound respectively around said pulleys.

4. The combination of a power shaft, a straight-groove pulley and a spiral-groove pulley loose on saidshaft, 'a rope secured to said spiral pulley and wound throughout the spiral groove of said pulley, a hat-supporting platform secured to the free end of said rope, a rope wound around the straight-groove pulley and having an overpoise suspended therefrom, means for connecting said pulleys with a revolving element whereby said platform is lowered and the overpoise elevated, and means for releasing said pulleys from said element whereby said overpoise will descend and thereby revolve said spiral-groove pulley in a reverse direction to elevate said platform to normal position.

5. The combination of a shaft, a power element mounted thereon, a main clutch-disk having an elongated hub loosely mounted on said shaft, said hub and element being provided with clutch-teeth, a spring acting against said disk whereby said teeth are normally engaged, an auxiliary clutch-disk supported on said hub and having a feather connection therewith and having a switch in its periphery, springs between said disks whereby the latter are normally separated, a collar secured to the auxiliary disk and having a protuberance extending from its inner face, the peripheries of said auxiliary disk and collar being cut down in front of said switch and protuberance, a normally depressed clutch-controlling lever, and means for elevating said lever.

6. The combination of a main shaft, a power element mounted thereon, a main clutch-disk having an elongated hub supported loosely on said shaft, said hub and power element being provided with cooperating clutch devices, a spring whereby said devices are normallyengaged, a straight-groove pulley and spiralgroove pulleysecured upon said hub by a feather connection whereby said hub may have free lengthwise movements, an auxiliary clutch-disk mounted on said hub and secured thereto by a feather connection whereby said lever, means for elevating the same, a hatcone-supporting platform suspended from a rope wound around the spiral-groove pulley,

and an overpoise suspended from the rope wound around the straight-groove pulley in a direction-reverse to that in which the rope is wound which suspends said platform.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

STERLING H. FANTON.

Witnesses:

F. W. SMITH, Jr., M. T. LONGDEN. 

